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Thread: Just a thought...

  1. #1
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    Just a thought...

    This made me think - how about you?





    A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold, December morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

    ØThree minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
    ØA minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.
    ØA few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
    The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

    In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

    No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

    Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.00 each.
    This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

    One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

    If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

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    Commercial Operator StokeBloke's Avatar
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    Cool Re: Just a thought...

    That was me... I gave the old duffer a $1. Turns out he's loaded!! I want my $1 back

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    Re: Just a thought...

    The ambience and environment are very important, but this example proves nothing. The people who like classical violin are a small percentage of the population.

    I perused the net for tips on busking to help me work out ways of making dance busks more successful. Different styles work better in different times and different locations. I have never seen a busk with a DJ present, and they all, IMO, failed to play to the crowd. A big organisation like Ceroc ought to do a little research into what tracks get the passers-by to slow down or otherwise react positively as they pass. Failing that the sound track garnered from supermarkets might be a good place to start. Classical violin seems to be a no-no.

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    Re: Just a thought...

    Quote Originally Posted by StokeBloke View Post
    That was me... I gave the old duffer a $1. Turns out he's loaded!! I want my $1 back
    Wrong bloke Stokey , I wouldn't call the lovely Josh an old duffer

    On a more serious note, the quality of the buskers they have in the London Underground has improved in the last year or so with the introduction of licenced busking spots, so I more often feel a desire to stop and show appreciation. However, it's true that sometimes it's not as easy as all that; being late for work, or being in a flowing crowd of people makes it impractical to stop, and concerns over being pickpocketed make me uneasy to get my purse out to give something back to the busker. They've usually given up and gone home by the time I leave work, too

    In this specific case, I like to think I would have stopped to listen - Bach's solo violin music, played well, is a particular weakness of mine - but unfortunately they did the experiment a little way off my commute to work.

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    Re: Just a thought...

    here's the youtube video that goes with the story


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    Re: Just a thought...

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver View Post
    The ambience and environment are very important, but this example proves nothing.
    While people may love to listen to good music on their own terms i.e. they buy a cd/ticket/dvd - you can't expect them to rearrange their day with no notice whatsoever. I know if it had been me at that location, during rush hour I would be going somewhere with a purpose and would not have stopped either. So the "possible conclusion" from the experiment is nonsense

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    Re: Just a thought...

    Quote Originally Posted by Toasti View Post
    He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
    Apart from the lady in red who walked past and thanked him when he finished, and the lady in the black coat who recognised him, stayed to the end, and told him she'd seen him at the Library of Congress?

    I know that's not massively different (particularly as the lady in question gave him $20 of the $32 he collected) - but this version of the story does seem to be skewed slightly toward the dramatic.

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    Re: Just a thought...

    Quote Originally Posted by Toasti;537046[The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?[/COLOR
    [/COLOR][/SIZE]
    I would say yes yes and yes if you have time

    I have heard some excellent singers on the underground over the years

    Do I stop for 10/15 mins and miss my appointment turn up late for work etc no

    What does that mean ? Im not dippy

    would I pay to hear then sing yes

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    Commercial Operator StokeBloke's Avatar
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    Cool Re: Just a thought...

    I wonder how different the outcome would have been if he'd busk'd outside the Tate in London, or some other establishment where people were going who had a little free time to stop and listen.

    It's a bit daft to try it in a busy station... where people only go because they are on their way (usually in a hurry) somewhere else.

    Of course that wouldn't make as good a story as "guess what, sometimes we don't have as much free time to appreciate things as much as we'd like to".. which in itself isn't exactly a shocking revelation is it?

    <-We are busking
    <- We are listening

    <- We are fighting on a forum

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    Re: Just a thought...

    I think it could be a combination of things:

    1. A perception of someone not worthy of their time because he is a busker on a train station, so did not give it a try
    2. Someone like me who does not like classical music (sorry to be a philistine) and really don’t enjoy the sound of the violin, just my preference.
    3. People in a hurry, so therefore not really taking in the music, so hearing but not listening.

    I think for it to be a true social experiment they would need to repeat it at different venues and they would need to incorporate a control group

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    Re: Just a thought...

    Quote Originally Posted by StokeBloke View Post
    I wonder how different the outcome would have been if he'd busk'd outside the Tate in London, or some other establishment where people were going who had a little free time to stop and listen...
    He may be a great violinist but he is a very poor busker.

    ... It's a bit daft to try it in a busy station... where people only go because they are on their way (usually in a hurry) somewhere else.

    Of course that wouldn't make as good a story as "guess what, sometimes we don't have as much free time to appreciate things as much as we'd like to".. which in itself isn't exactly a shocking revelation is it?...
    It is not a brain strain exercise, the pro buskers work in a train on the concourse joining platforms. Busking is a very quick way of finding out what pleases the public.


    Quote Originally Posted by Maxine View Post
    I think it could be a combination of things:

    1. A perception of someone not worthy of their time because he is a busker on a train station, so did not give it a try
    2. Someone like me who does not like classical music (sorry to be a philistine) and really don’t enjoy the sound of the violin, just my preference.
    3. People in a hurry, so therefore not really taking in the music, so hearing but not listening.

    I think for it to be a true social experiment they would need to repeat it at different venues and they would need to incorporate a control group
    Of the top of my head I cannot think of how you could set up a control group. My brain will not get past the image of him not playing and perhaps earning more.

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    Re: Just a thought...

    Quote Originally Posted by bigdjiver View Post
    Of the top of my head I cannot think of how you could set up a control group. My brain will not get past the image of him not playing and perhaps earning more.[/FONT]
    The control group is relatively simple. I would use two variants to add control. The first would be an significantly less accomplished violinist playing the same repertoire at the same locations. The second would be an accomplished busker playing whatever they wanted at the same locations. A third control would be someone who is a regular busker at each location. Measuring the variance in response under each condition would be the interesting data.

    Obviously, this would highlight the difference between what is "popular" and what is "good". It's an age old debate with no real resolution: the taste of the bohemian masses will never appeal to the proletariat elite, regardless of the domain. This particular experiment is a few years old - I ran across it a couple of years ago.

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